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Locals asked to support 'Vote No'

Attendees of the joint Kenai and Soldotna Chambers luncheon heard a presentation urging them to join the Vote No on 1 coalition Wednesday.

Danny Bookey, general manager at Petroleum Equipment and Services Inc. delivered a presentation drafted by Al Hull, vice president of PESI and Kenai chapter president for The Alliance, on why Alaskans should support Senate Bill 21.

SB21 took effect on Jan. 1, and Bookey said, is already working to reverse Alaska’s decline in oil production.

“The old tax structure known as (Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share) is the major culprit (of the decline),” Bookey said.

The Alaska Legislature passed ACES into law in 2007, which Bookey said, was the most complicated oil tax law in the country with the highest rates.

“It did not increase production,” he said. “It chilled the investment climate.”